Air Traffic Control Tower Lab

This lab is a high-fidelity simulation of air traffic control in a visual flight rules (VFR) tower, which includes the capability to simulate all positions in a control tower (local controller, ground controller, and flight data). Pseudo pilots control aircraft on the ground and in the air and function as adjacent sectors.

Potential research topics include spatial and temporal perception and attentional allocation, workload management, biometric analyses, in-flight emergency management, communication errors, cognitive biases, knowledge-sharing processes and errors, fatigue, shared situation awareness, and decision-making.

Equipment

• 3 Control tower simulators (6 pseudo pilot stations; 2 pilots per tower, supervisor positions)